The present invention relates to an operator control panel for an electrical appliance, in particular, a refrigerator.
Modern refrigerators, in particular, those configured for use as a stand-alone unit and not, for instance, for fitting into kitchen furniture, generally have a cuboidal housing, the front of which is mainly filled by a door. A narrow strip above the door is taken up by an operator control panel, on which a number of switches, controllers, and/or indicating elements for setting and indicating operating temperatures, proper operation or malfunctions, etc. are disposed, the number differing according to the model of refrigerator. The outer configuration of such refrigerators is determined within quite close limits by the intended use and leaves the manufacturers with little freedom of design for them to make their products stand but in their appearance from those of other manufacturers or else to differentiate from one another product lines that are produced by the same manufacturer but are marketed under different designations. The most important possibility for such differentiation is the configuration of the operator control panel, which often also bears the name of the manufacturer or the designation of the product line concerned as a brand. The manufacturer may, for example, place the operator control and indicating elements in the region on the left of the panel in the case of a first product line, in the region on the right in the case of a second product line and, possibly, centrally on the operator control panel in the case of a third product line, to bring about a certain stylistic distinguishability of the product lines.
It is customary to dispose behind the panel a unit including control electronics that generates the signals to be indicated on the panel and controls the operation of the refrigerator based upon the settings made by a user at controllers on the operator control panel. Because the same electronics units can be used in each case for appliances of different product lines with the same performance features in each case, costs can be saved in the production and later maintenance of the appliances. However, the different way in which the operator control elements are provided according to the product line makes it necessary for these electronics units to be installed at different locations behind the operator control panel, for example, to the right, to the left, or centrally, according to the product line. The operator control panels must, therefore, be produced in each case specifically for each individual appliance model. This leads to a considerable expenditure in the manufacture of respectively model-specific molds for the production of the panels and also in the stocking of spare parts.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an operator control panel for an electrical appliance, in particular, a refrigerator, that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that can be used flexibly for a large number of appliance models with different configurations of the operator control and indicating elements on the operator control panel.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an operator control panel, including a base panel to be fastened on an electrical appliance, the base panel having a visible side and a rear side, a control circuit for controlling the electrical appliance, an insert attached to the visible side of the base panel, and an adapter fastening the control circuit to a number of positions at the rear side of the base panel.
Based upon an operator control panel that has, in a conventional way, a base panel for fastening on an electrical appliance, in particular, a refrigerator, a control circuit for the electrical appliance and an insert for attachment to a visible side of the base panel, an adapter for fastening the control circuit behind the base panel is mounted on the base panel in a number of positions. These positions respectively correspond to the preferred installation positions of the operator control elements according to the product line. The base panel can, then, be the same for all product lines, an adaptation of the outer design to the configuration of the operator control elements merely being required in the case of the insert. Because, however, the insert is only a flat strip with several cutouts or windows matching the position of indicating and/or operator control elements and, possibly, a printed-on inscription, the unavoidable model-specific production here entails minimal expenditure.
In accordance with the elongate form of the operator control panel, the various positions at which the adapter can be mounted are respectively offset from one another in the longitudinal direction of the panel; at the same time, partial overlapping of the positions is not ruled out. The adapter, preferably, has a set of fastening elements, and a number of sets of fastening elements that are identical to one another and complementary to the adapter are respectively disposed at the different installation positions of the base panel. The fastening elements removably fasten the adapter to the base panel.
The adapter may be an independent component; however, it may also be combined with the control circuit to form a structural unit.
An important function of the adapter is to form a holder for indicating elements and/or controllers and/or operating buttons for control. The adapter can removably hold the element(s).
In particular, in the case of refrigerators that respectively have cooling or refrigerating zones of different temperatures, it is conceivable for a number of control circuits to be disposed behind the operator control panel, it being possible, for example, for each of these control circuits to serve for controlling one of the cooling zones. In such a case, just as in the case of a single electronics unit, a flexible design of the operator control panel is possible if the adapters of the number of control circuits can be mounted on the base panel in a number of configurations.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, there is provided at least one second control circuit and a second adapter fastening the at least one second control circuit to a number of positions at the rear side of the base panel; the adapter and the second adapter simultaneously mounted on the base panel in a number of adapter configurations.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a refrigerator, including a housing and an operator control panel connected to the housing, the control panel having a base panel removably fastened to the housing, the base panel having a visible side and a rear side, a control circuit for controlling the refrigerator, an insert attached to the visible side of the base panel, and an adapter fastening the control circuit to a number of positions at the rear side of the base panel.
With the objects of the invention in view, in combination with a refrigerator, there is also provided an operator control panel, including a base panel to be fastened to the refrigerator, the base panel having a visible side and a rear side, a control circuit for controlling the refrigerator, an insert attached to the visible side of the base panel, and an adapter fastening the control circuit to a number of positions at the rear side of the base panel.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an operator control panel for an electrical appliance, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.